The present invention is related to fluid-driven turbine-type energy converters, and more particularly to the support of and translation of the energy of rotation of wind driven turbines to useful mechanical and/or electrical energy. The invention is particularly adaptable to, but not limited to, use with turbines such as are described in my prior U.S. Pat. No. 4,781,523 issued Nov. 1, 1988 for a fluid energy turbine and the turbine described in my pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/143,471 for a self governing fluid energy turbine. The energy take-off from such turbines is conventionally from an axial rotor shaft typically connected to a mechanical transmission unit or directly to an electrical generator. Such an arrangement is convenient and efficient for turbines of conventional size, but for extra large sizes to which such turbines are capable of being constructed, such conventional take-off techniques become cumbersome and less practical.